We Tried 8 Dark Chocolate Bars From Whole Foods—These Are the 4 Worth Buying
As important as it is to get in those five daily servings of fruits and veggies (well, most of the time), we also think it's worthwhile to enjoy life's little pleasures and that certainly includes chocolate. And if you're going to eat it, you might as well splurge a little and get the good stuff, which means dark chocolate. (Which is legitimately a healthy choice!)
But if you're like us, you're often very overwhelmed by the chocolate section at your local grocery store. Whole Foods has shelf upon shelf of organic, fair trade, vegan, low-sugar, paleo and fancily flavored dark chocolates, but how are you supposed to know which ones are actually tasty enough to be worth the cost? Well look no further, because we ate our way through the dark chocolate at Whole Foods to find the best options. Someone had to do it, right?
Below, you will find our favorite plain dark chocolates from Whole Foods (That way you can get the flavors you like, knowing the chocolate is quality.) These were all unanimous favorites, so there's a good chance you'll love them as much as we do:
Endangered Species Chimpanzee
This fair-trade chocolate was an instant favorite, deserving of its "bold and silky" label. We loved the complex flavor of this variety, and staffers thought it had a nice balance of bright fruitiness and smooth, coffee-like bitterness. Plus, Endangered Species donates 10% of their profits to save our wildlife, so you can enjoy that chocolate even more.
Endangered Species Bold + Silky Dark Chocolate is made with 72% cocoa and has 170 calories, 11g fat, 7g saturated fat, 3g fiber and 8g sugars per one-ounce serving. It's both vegan and gluten-free, and you can find it for $3.29.
Related: Healthy Vegan Chocolate Recipes
Chocolove Strong
Chocolove Strong is a smooth and slightly sweet variety that had all our taste buds dancing. One staffer thought this chocolate was the perfect amount of bittersweet flavor, and we all found it to be very well-balanced. There's also a romantic poem inside each wrapper so make sure to read before tossing!
Chocolove Strong Dark Chocolate is made with 70% cocoa and has 160 calories, 13g fat, 8g saturated fat, 3g fiber and 9g sugars per one-ounce serving. It also packs a whopping 30% of your daily iron needs! The ingredients are both vegan and gluten-free, but it may contain traces of milk or wheat ingredients. You'll find it for $3.19.
Whole Foods Market Organic
We were very pleasantly surprised that the least expensive option was one of the most delicious! This fair-trade chocolate was super smooth, buttery and had a nice nutty flavor. It wasn't quite as dark as the others, but it reminded one staffer of a more sophisticated Easter candy-in the best way. Another called it "the milk chocolate of dark chocolate," so those with a big sweet tooth can truly enjoy this bar while reaping all the benefits of eating dark chocolate.
Whole Foods Market Organic Dark Chocolate is made with 57% cocoa and has 180 calories, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 2g fiber and 14g sugars per serving. It also packs 25% of your daily iron needs. Like the Chocolove, this bar's ingredients are vegan and gluten free, but it may contain traces of milk and wheat. You can find it for $2.99 per bar.
Related: Healthy Chocolate Recipes
Chocolove Rich
Consider us official Chocolove fans at this point, because we were obsessed with both varieties we tried. This rich version hits the sweet spot percentage-wise, offering a nice balance of bold and sweet. One staffer even said they could eat the whole bar! That's when you know it's good.
Chocolove Rich Dark Chocolate is made with 65% cocoa and has 160 calories, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 3g fiber and 10g sugars per one-ounce serving. It also has 25% of your daily iron needs. This chocolate's ingredients are vegan and gluten-free, but it may contain traces of milk or wheat. You can find it for $3.19
While we think enjoying an indulgence should be worthy of its name, we did choose dark chocolates under 10g saturated fat per serving and tried to avoid artificial sweeteners for this taste test. But there's no need to fear the bars higher in saturated fat!